36 new permanent acute care in-patient beds at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital (RUH) were announced on Wednesday.
The beds will be used to accommodate patients admitted through the Emergency Department.
The beds will be located in the space currently occupied by the maternal, newborn, and pediatric services, which is moving over to the new Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in the fall.
This will also mean 56 full-time nursing positions for the department.
Dr. Janet Ferguson, emergency physician and assistant area lead for the emergency department, said this could help with some of the over capacity issues at the hospital.
“(It’s) definitely the hope, that we can then provide care for emergency department patients in the appropriate spaces.”
In the mean time, a temporary 22-bed admission transition area will be set up until the area is cleared in the fall.
The new acute care beds will receive funding of $2.6 million in the first year, and annual funding of nearly $8 million in the future.